TheStreet Ratings Group would like to highlight 3 stocks that pushed the industry lower today:

Pangaea Logistics Solutions ( PANL) is one of the companies that pushed the Transportation industry lower today. Pangaea Logistics Solutions was down $0.15 (4.5%) to $3.21 on light volume. Throughout the day, 2,733 shares of Pangaea Logistics Solutions exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 7,100 shares. The stock ranged in price between $3.21-$3.34 after having opened the day at $3.33 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $3.36.

Pangaea Logistics Solutions has a market cap of $116.5 million and is part of the services sector. Shares are down 29.3% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there are 7 analysts who rate Pangaea Logistics Solutions a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 4 rate it a hold.

At the close, PHI ( PHII) was down $1.15 (4.4%) to $24.81 on light volume. Throughout the day, 100 shares of PHI exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 600 shares. The stock ranged in price between $24.81-$24.81 after having opened the day at $24.81 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $25.96.

PHI, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides transportation services to, from, and among offshore facilities involved in the oil and gas exploration, development, and production industry in North America, West Africa, and the Middle East. PHI has a market cap of $79.5 million and is part of the services sector. Shares are down 27.9% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

TheStreet Ratings rates PHI as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and attractive valuation levels. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including disappointing return on equity, a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and poor profit margins.

Highlights from TheStreet Ratings analysis on PHII go as follows:

The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 22.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 3.6%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.

The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.89, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 4.11, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.

PHI INC reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has not demonstrated a clear trend in earnings over the past 2 years, making it difficult to accurately predict earnings for the coming year. During the past fiscal year, PHI INC reported lower earnings of $2.08 versus $3.77 in the prior year.

PHII's stock share price has done very poorly compared to where it was a year ago: Despite any rallies, the net result is that it is down by 25.49%, which is also worse that the performance of the S&P 500 Index. Investors have so far failed to pay much attention to the earnings improvements the company has managed to achieve over the last quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.

The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. In comparison to the other companies in the Energy Equipment & Services industry and the overall market, PHI INC's return on equity is significantly below that of the industry average and is below that of the S&P 500.

China Metro-Rural Holdings ( CNR) was another company that pushed the Transportation industry lower today. China Metro-Rural Holdings was down $0.05 (4.5%) to $1.05 on light volume. Throughout the day, 2,543 shares of China Metro-Rural Holdings exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 13,200 shares. The stock ranged in price between $1.05-$1.10 after having opened the day at $1.06 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $1.10.

China Metro-Rural Holdings has a market cap of $78.7 million and is part of the services sector. Shares are up 19.6% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Thursday. Currently there is 1 analyst who rates China Metro-Rural Holdings a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and none rate it a hold.